Microsoft already has the tools it needs to address the Windows 'app gap'

Microsoft has a problem. In a world where computer programs are essential to personal computing ecosystems, Win32 apps are less relevant, and there's relatively little support for Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform (UWP).

Once upon a time, personal computing was virtually synonymous with Windows. The 16 million Win32 Windows programs that developers created over the life of Microsoft's desktop OS are a testament of this. But nothing lasts forever.

Microsoft's developer and ecosystem problems affect its entire device family, not just phones. Success or failure with building developer relationships will have a profound impact on Microsoft's personal computing future. It seems, however, that Microsoft isn't utilizing its available tools to their full capacity to address the issue.

Examining Xamarin

Xamarin allows mobile app developers to use C# to target multiple platforms at once. With Visual Studio and UWP, Microsoft could potentially use Xamarin to position Microsoft as the platform for mobile app development. The ability to use a single tool to target all mobile platforms as a single mobile target positions Microsoft to affect the way developers think about mobile. Using Xamarin to develop for a single Windows-Android-iOS target elevates Windows (or UWP) to the same level as iOS and Android.

With Xamarin Microsoft is equipped to attempt to change developers' perception of mobile development from the current disparate iOS and Android duopoly view to a composite Windows-Android-iOS mobile platform perspective.

The Magic of Wand

Wand Labs, which Microsoft acquired in 2016, offers a messenger-based approach to app usage. Created by Vishal Sharma, an ex-Google employee, Wand's messenger-based technology potentially fits well within Microsoft's "Conversations as a Platform" strategy.

Wand's goal was to circumvent the need to install apps and address the difficulty of sharing information stored within them. It does this by breaking apps into components called "atoms" and by converting an app's information into virtual apps that then reside in Wand's plugin. "Atoms" are a user's instance of the app. A song atom, therefore, could be shared with a person who doesn't have the app, and the receiver could then play the song via an app capable of understanding the atom.

Back in 2013, my team and I embarked ... to integrate services into the chat experience ... to leverage mobile scale, natural language capabilities, and third-party services to enable users to easily access and share any authorized service or device.

Bots and Wand would use messaging as part of Microsoft's conversations as a canvas strategy.

As part of Microsoft's platform play to use messenger platforms to "do things" via bots and AI, Wand's messengers-based solution seems a perfect fit to help address, at least in part, the app problem.

Microsoft's recent embrace of Google's Progressive Web Apps (PWA) which makes web-based experience's more app-like, is a sign that we may see more activity with Westminster. Westminster allows developers to convert a progressive web-app page to UWP enabling functions like notifications, Cortana integration, live tiles and more.

Since much of our app behavior revolves around just six core apps and mobile web properties are engaged at higher rates than apps, Westminster and progressive web apps may help Microsoft bridge the app gap.

Mobile web versus apps.

If Microsoft puts its weight behind Xamarin, Wand, the app Bridges and bots, it may make progress in building developer relationships that will help it bridge the app gap. If it doesn't, the story of these investments may remain perpetual "what ifs" long into the future.

Jason Ward

Jason L Ward is a columnist at Windows Central. He provides unique big picture analysis of the complex world of Microsoft. Jason takes the small clues and gives you an insightful big picture perspective through storytelling that you won't find anywhere else. Seriously, this dude thinks outside the box. Follow him on Twitter at @JLTechWord. He's doing the "write" thing!